THE BUZZ: Fights over California’s criminal justice system will lead to some of the biggest policy showdowns in the statehouse this year. And Assemblymember Kevin McCarty has been tapped to be the referee. The Sacramento Democrat is on his way out — running for mayor of his hometown after nearly a decade in the state Assembly — and his final months in the Capitol could be some of his most grueling. As the newly-appointed chair of the Public Safety Committee, McCarty will be a chief arbiter on fights over fentanyl, retail theft and Californians’ growing feelings of unease around crime. On Thursday, he announced he was diving into one of the state’s most explosive policy debates with a bill to roll back parts of the hotly-contested Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot measure that reduced sentences for certain nonviolent crimes. That measure's passage was a historic win for criminal justice reform advocates, but has since become a favorite target of conservatives. Amid increasing public frustration over public safety, California Democrats have been moving toward the center. McCarty — a member of the progressive caucus — told Playbook on Thursday that it could be time for a change. “I think it's time to take a thoughtful look back and see how we can improve upon Prop 47, which potentially means going back to the voters,” he said. His openness to altering Prop 47 stands in stark contrast to the stance of his predecessor, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) who on more than one occasion blocked such efforts in the committee. We caught up with McCarty to get his thoughts on the challenges he’ll encounter as chair of Public Safety — and why he signed up for it. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. Why do you think the speaker chose you for this job? I think I've been an effective lawmaker, working on high-profile issues. I did major police reform legislation that you may remember, that I tried many times, but it was after the summer of George Floyd that it finally passed. I did some creative bills on parole reform, helping people get reintegration credits for rewarding success. But I also in the last three years pushed a really controversial bill bringing back the drug court concept, which was pushed by our local DAs here in Sacramento and Yolo County, and was opposed by some of the advocate groups. That showed that I realized that the status quo is not always working and I've been willing to look for creative ways to solve our public safety challenges in California. You’ve said you want to advance “balanced and common-sense” policies next year. What do you mean by that? We've done a lot of smart reform in sentencing and focusing on people who are serving decades in our state prison systems and bringing about more redemption for them to get paroled and reintegrate back into society. But we have not always, in the last decade, kept a common-sense approach when it comes to accountability on the front end. People going into Home Depot day after day and stealing a $300 drill — we don't have accountability for these types of things anymore. What do you think is the appetite among your Democratic colleagues for more accountability? Because there were progressive members last year who halted some measures. There is an appetite to bring about more accountability. That's one of the reasons why I was selected to this position. Conversely, I don't think our membership wants to go back to 1995, where we have someone go to prison for 25 years for stealing a piece of pizza. So, we need to be smart about these things. And there's strong positions on each side. My job is to find a balanced, middle-ground approach. What are the major issues you expect the committee to tackle this year? The key issues are retail theft, drug use and fentanyl sales. I think those are the main focuses, but we'll have other issues we'll look at — policing issues, our corrections system, there's a big list of topics. Privacy has been a big issue the last couple years, with the facial recognition cameras. Public safety has been a political hot potato and many expect to see fireworks out of this committee. Why were you willing to take the job? I hope to greatly disappoint you as far as fireworks, because I already see paths forward. I already see places for middle ground. GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte WHERE’S GAVIN? Out of state on vacation; he’s expected to return Sunday. | 
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